Regarding Scabbers
by Bunny1
Summary: Not having read the books, I always felt that the movie left out a potentially great bit about the Weasley's finding out about their beloved "pet", especially Ginny...


Ron, Harry and Hermoine walked back to the shockingly empty Gryffondor Common Room and sat down wearily, finally able to rest for the first time in hours. But, they were soon bombarded by Fred, George and Ginny Weasley, all eager for the news.

"We asked everybody else to clear out of this room for the night, give you three some resting space." Fred explained.

"Wow, thanks…" Ron sighed, leaning back on a pillow.

"Sure." Said George. "But, you're gonna tell _us_ what happened, right?"

"Oh, yeah… well, Scabbers… we don't have him anymore."

"Sorry, Ron." Ginny said softly.

"No, no, it's all right; turns out Scabbers--- well, he wasn't, you know."

George and Fred each quirked an eyebrow at their little brother. "Say what now?" they asked in unison.

"Okay, well… Harry?"

"Pettigrew. Peter Pettigrew, a deatheater. He was hiding out as your pet mouse." Harry said wearily, staring into the fireplace.

"Oh, oh, _uggghh_!" Ginny screeched, standing up quickly.

"What? We didn't know it!" Ron said defensively.

"When I was very little, and had nightmares, you let him sleep with me a couple of times." She said quietly. "I used to play dress up with that… thing... when I was five…"

"Five, right." George smirked.

"More like yesterday." Fred chimed in.

"Not funny!" Ginny said, folding her arms across her chest.

"Well, it is a _little_ bit, pet." Fred said.

"Yeah, come on… don't make a big deal over nothing."

Ginny bit her lower lip and sat down again, between her brothers, and George put an arm around her shoulders.

"So, other than skeeving out the baby, everything else go all right?" George asked casually.

"I have a godfather." Harry said finally, looking at them. "I do, and he's actually good."

"Well, that's great, man." Fred said approvingly.

"Yeah, for all the good it does me; I still have to go back to my aunt and uncle's during the summer." He said, a touch of bitterness to his tone.

"Well, maybe it'll get better--- and, you can always leave early for vacay at our house." George offered.

"Yeah, you know Mum and Dad would probably adopt you if your aunt and uncle would allow it." Ron added, clapping him on the shoulder gently.

Harry's eyes shone; yes, he _did_ know, but, it was still really nice to hear--- just too bad it couldn't happen… But, he looked over at Ginny, who was staring at her hands in her lap. Her brothers truly didn't realize how much the news had gotten to her--- just one year after Tom Riddle had possessed her by his diary, she finds out that she'd unknowingly shared her childhood bed with a deatheater. Maybe nobody else in the room realized, but, Harry did…

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Finally, everyone decided to go to bed. Everyone but Ginny, who stayed behind, poking at the fire with a poker. Harry stopped in the hallway.

"Ah, I forgot something, Ron; I'll be up in a minute." He said.

Ron shrugged, yawning heavily, and walked towards the stairs to their room. Harry, meanwhile, walked back into the common room, empty all except for the two of them now.

"It's late…" he said softly.

"I'll go to bed later." Ginny said, suppressing a yawn. "Actually, I might go take a hot bath first. Maybe twenty."

Harry smiled softly and sat next to her. "It's all right, you know."

"No, it isn't, really. We had one of those… _things_ under our roof. Ron loved it, fed it candy. I remember dressing it up as a dolly, giving it a milk-and-honey bottle." She said with a shake of her head.

Harry shuddered slightly at the unbidden image of Peter Pettigrew being held and given a bottle.

"Something is seriously wrong with me."

"What?" Harry asked, shocked.

"At least four times that thing slept in my bed. A deatheater. And I didn't even know it!"

"Ginny…"

"And, last year? Who did Voldemort pick? I'm… tainted or something…"

Harry sighed, reaching out and brushing her hair back from her face with one hand. Ginny blushed slightly at the touch of his fingertips on her cheek.

"_None_ of that was your fault, do you hear me?" Harry said firmly. "You didn't bring the rat home, did you?"

Ginny shook her head.

"No, I don't know who did--- Mum was pregnant with me at that time."

"All right then." Harry said confidently. "And, the diary--- Lucious Malfoy is to blame for that. Wouldn't surprise me if he's a deatheater himself."

"Probably, but, you can't go hurling accusations like that. Could get you into trouble."

"Kind of used to it." Harry smiled. "Gin… nothing is wrong with you, okay? You're sweet, and good, and beautiful…"

"Beautiful?"

"What?"

"Did you just say I was beautiful?"

Harry blushed bright red. "I… ah…"

"Harry?"

"Ahem. Well, we should be getting to bed… want me to walk you to your room?"

"You want to, then?" Ginny asked, smiling all over now.

Harry merely took her hand, and led her out of the room…


End file.
